Golden Barite - Elk Creek, South Dakota

Contributed by: Chris Clemens
Date: Apr 30th, 2026
Locality: Elk Creek, Meade County, South Dakota, USA (See on Mindat)
Size: 64 x 52 x 86 mm
Weight: 273 g

Description:
Several well-formed, terminated, amber barite crystals on a dark chocolate brown matrix, from the Elk Creek area of Meade County, South Dakota. Under both shortwave and longwave UV the barite fluoresces a honey white color and phosphoresces blue/green after shortwave and green after longwave. The Elk Creek area is notable for producing golden-amber colored barite crystals that are fluorescent under all UV wavelengths. The primary occurrence of this material is located along the bank of Elk Creek in the Black Hills of Western South Dakota, where the barite crystals have formed within the hollow interiors of calcareous concretions found in the surrounding Cretaceous age shale.

Originally posted by Chris Clemens on Nature's Rainbows in 2017.